"The Holy Grail." Hal went pale with awe, and Grey was delighted to see the reaction he had evoked.
"Yes! Yes! The Holy Grail! The precious cup for which Christians have searched since the Crucifixion." Hal shook his head and stared at Grey in unfeigned amazement. He was moved by a strange sense of dejdvu that rendered him speechless. The prophecies of both his father and Sukeena flashed across his mind. He knew, deep in his heart, that this was part of the destiny they had foretold for him.
Grey took his silence and the shake of his head for scepticism. "I assure you, sir, that the Holy Grail is the most poignant reason that the Great Mogul and Ahmed El Grang have attacked the empire of Ethiopia. I have had this from the Sultan's own lips. He also is convinced that the relic is in the care of the Prester. One of the mightiest ayatollahs of Islam has prophesied this and has given him the word of Allah that if he can wrest the Grail from the Prester his dynasty will be invested with power untold, and will herald the triumph of Islam over all the false religions of the world."
Hal stared at him aghast. His thoughts were in wild confusion and he was no longer certain of himself or of anything around him. It took a vast effort to put aside such a terrible prospect as the subjugation of Christianity and to reassemble his thoughts.
"Where is this relic kept hidden?" he asked huskily. "Nobody but the Prester and his monks know for certain. Some say at Aksum or at Gander, and others say that it is secreted in a monastery in the high mountains."
"Perhaps it has already fallen into the hands of El Grang or the Mogul? Perhaps the war is already lost and won?" Hal suggested.
"No! No!" Grey was vehement. "A dhow arrived from the Gulf of Aden this very morning. The news it brings is less than eight days old. It seems that the victorious armies of Islam have been checked at Mitsiwa. There has arisen within the Christian ranks a mighty general.
They call this warrior Nazet, and though he is but a stripling the armies of Tigre and Galla flock to his standard." It seemed to Hal, from the relish with which Grey recounted these setbacks to the cause of Islam, that the consul was backing both horses. "Nazet has driven back the armies of El Grang and the Mogul. They confront each other before Mitsiwa, gathering themselves for the final battle, which will decide the war. It is far from over yet. I earnestly counsel you, my young friend, that once you have in your hand the Letter of Marque that I shall procure for you, you should make all haste to sail to Mitsiwa in time to share the spoils."
"I must think on all you have told me." Hal rose from the pile of carpets. "If I decide to avail myself of your generous offer, I will return tomorrow with the four hundred pounds to purchase my commission from the Sultan."
"You will always be welcome in my home," Grey assured him.
Let me back to the ship as fast as you like," Hal snapped at Big Daniel, the moment the *-Gtall carved doors closed behind them. "I want to sail on this evening's tide."
They had not reached the first bazaar when Althuda caught at Hal's arm. "I must go back. I have left my journal in the courtyard."
"I am in desperate haste, Althuda. The Buzzard is already more than a month ahead of us, but I know now for certain where I must search for him."
"I must retrieve my journal. Go on ahead to the ship. I will not be long behind you. Send the boat back for me, and have them wait at the harbour steps. I will be there before you sail." 4DO not fail me, Althuda. I cannot delay."
Reluctantly Hal let him go, and hurried on after Big Daniel. As soon as he reached the Golden Bough, he sent the longboat to wait for Althuda at the landing, and gave the orders to ready the ship for sea. Then he went down to his cabin and spread on his desk under the stern windows those charts and sailing directions for the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea that he had inherited from Llewellyn.
He had studied these almost daily ever since he had been aboard the GoLden Bough, so he had no difficulty in placing all the names Grey had mentioned in his discourse. He plotted his course to round the tip of the Great Horn and sail down the Gulf of Aden, through the narrows of the Bah El Mandeb and into the southern reaches of the Red Sea. There were hundreds of tiny islands scattered off the Ethiopian coast, perfect lairs for the privateer and the corsair.
He would have to avoid the fleets of the Mogul and the Omani until he had reached the Christian court of the Prester and obtained his commission from him. He could not attack the Mussulmen before he had that document in his hands or he risked the same fate as his father, of being accused of piracy on the high seas.
Perhaps he would be able to link up with the Christian army commander General Nazet, of whom Grey had spoken, and place the Golden Bough at his disposal. In any event, he reasoned that the transport fleet of the Mussulman army would be gathered in these crowded seas in huge numbers, and they would fall easy prey to a swift frigate boldly handled. Grey was right in one respect. there would be fortune and glory to be won in the days ahead.
He heard the bell sound the end of the watch, left his charts and went up on deck. He saw at a glance, from the ship's changed attitude to the tide, that the ebb had set in.
Then he looked across the harbour and, even at that distance, recognized the figure of Althuda at the head of the landing steps. He was in deep conversation with Stan Sparrow, who had taken the longboat back to wait for him.
"Damn him," Hal muttered. "He is wasting time in idle chatter." He turned all his attention to the affairs of the ship, and watched his topmast men going aloft, quick and surefooted, to set the sails. When he looked back at the shore again he saw that the longboat was coming in against the ship's side below where he stood.
As soon as it touched, Althuda came up the ladder. He stood in front of Hal and said with a serious expression, "I have come to fetch Zwaantie and my son," he said solemnly. "And to bid you farewell."
"I do not understand." Hal was aghast.
"Consul Grey has taken me into his service as a writer. "I intend to remain with my family here in Zanzibar," Althuda replied.
"But why, Althuda? Why?"
"As you know well, both Sukeena and I were raised by our mother as followers of Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah. You are intent on waging war on the armies of Islam in the name of the Christian God. I can no longer follow you." Althuda turned away and went to the forecastle. He returned a few minutes later leading Zwaantie and carrying little Bobby. Zwaantie was weeping silently, but she did not look at Hal. Althuda stopped at the head of the ladder and gazed at him.
"I regret this parting, but I cherish the memory of the love you bore my sister. I call down the blessing of Allah upon you," he said, then followed Zwaantie down into the longboat. Hal watched them row across to the quay and climb the stone steps. Althuda. never looked back, and he and his little family disappeared in the throng of white robed merchants and their slaves.
Hal felt so saddened that he did not realize that the longboat had returned until, with a start, he saw that it had already been hoisted aboard and that Ned Tyler waited by the whipstall for his orders.
"Up anchor, if you please, Mister Tyler. Set the top sails and steer for the channel."